Installing home solar panels

For homeowners considering installing solar panels, there are 5 things you should know about residential solar.  As more and more people decide to switch to renewable energy options like solar power, keep these considerations in mind:

1.  You may be eligible for group solar discounts.  Before you enter into a contract to install home solar panels, check out sites like One Block Off the Grid, which may be able to secure a group discount for you and other homeowners in your neighborhood or region.

2.  Residential solar panels improve the value of your home.  Despite concerns about the initial investment associated with solar panels, you can recoup the costs both in lower energy bills and an increase in $20 of home equity for every $1 you save in annual electricity bills.

3. A solar home is more affordable today than two years ago.  Solar panel prices have fallen dramatically in recent years.  Experts predict that the costs will continue to decline as we approach grid parity – the point at which solar power is as affordable as coal.

4.  Solar tax incentives and rebates may be ending soon.  In just a few years, if not earlier, federal solar incentives and rebates that allow you to save 30% may end in the U.S.  If you are thinking about solar power, now is the time!  Solar rebates and tax incentives will not last forever.

5.  Low profile solar panels via solar shingles help minimize aesthetic impacts.  If you would like to install solar panels but are worried about the impact on the appearance of your home, solar power shingles may be your answer.  They look like regular asphalt shingles, but generate clean solar electricity like their bulky photovoltaic (PV) panel counterparts!

Residential solar is becoming mainstream as more homeowners realize the savings they can recoup by going solar.

If you are considering making the switch, what considerations are on your mind?

Installing solar panels in California

What is driving solar power in California?  Among other things, several of the largest utilities offer generous solar rebates, including PG&E, SCE, and SDG&E.  Solar financing and solar leasing options help defray out of pocket costs of residential solar power, as well.  But perhaps more than anything, homeowners are looking to save money on their utility bills.  High electricity costs drive people to consider free solar power and guard against utility rate hikes in the future.

Solar power systems are virtually maintenance-free after installation and will generate clean, free electricity for 20-30 years.

For more information on solar power in California, consider these articles:

• Palm Desert sets the PACE for solar panel financing by local government
• Solar Group Discount Buying through One Block Off the Grid
• Solar Power to Help California Reach Goal of One-Third Energy from Renewables by 2020
• Rooftop Solar Panels Could Power 100% of Los Angeles
• Constellation Wines to Install Solar at Four Wineries in California

Prepare your home for residential solar panels

With a few simple home improvement projects, you’ll be saving even more money in energy costs when you switch to solar.  In other words, your electricity bill can be cut down to practically nothing!

Here are our 5 tips to prepare your home for residential solar:

1.  Check and re-seal windows and doors with caulk.  Weatherizing your home will prevent heat and cool air from leaving or coming in your home.  Caulking is one of the easiest, least expensive ways to seal air leaks and save money.  If you don’t want to do it yourself, there are plenty of professionals in your area just waiting to be hired to help make your home more air-tight and energy efficient.

2.  Make sure you have adequate insulation.  Insulation traps warm air inside during winter, and when its hot outside, you won’t lose the benefits of air conditioning, either.  Many homeowners do not have enough insulation to help moderate temperatures in their home and they end up spending much more on HVAC to feel comfortable.  An energy audit can help you determine if you have enough insulation, or whether you can save more on energy costs by adding or replacing insulation.

3.  Consider storm windows.  This is the final step required to fully seal your home from air leaks.  Today’s windows are much more energy efficient than those from 10-20 years ago (or even older).  Go with double-pane and make sure that they are fully sealed.

4.  Monitor your home energy usage and reduce where possible.  Smart meters and programmable thermostats are just the start.  You can now keep an eye on when you use the most electricity and which appliances are drawing the most energy with a home energy monitor.  Even after you install solar panels, this device will help you keep energy use in check so that you don’t have to draw on grid-based electricity as often (if at all).

5.  Use passive solar techniques.  Passive solar is such a great concept and so easy to use.  I cannot believe that there is not more written about it on the Internet!  Basically, passive solar involves allowing cool air in during the morning-  over summer months – or warm air in during winter months.  This is primarily achieved through windows.  Open them when you want the temperature to adjust and/or open or close blinds to let sunshine and heat in, or to keep it out.  Planting deciduous trees outside can also help with shading during summer and letting more warmth in over winter.

Click on the following link for more tips on how to save energy so that solar panels work best for your home.

Now that you know how to prepare your home for residential solar, what’s stopping you from taking the next step?

Benefits of residential solar

1.  Saving Money

That’s right.  Notwithstanding initial investment costs for residential solar, you can save a lot of money through solar rebates and incentives that can slash the price of solar installations.  Many people find the return on investment to be only six to eight years, after which you can enjoy 100% free solar energy for the life of the system, which is usually 25-30 years.

If you don’t want to purchase, you can lease solar panels for no money down.  With solar panels, residential properties experience at least 30% lower utility bills, in addition to the ability to take advantage of net metering (selling back excess energy into the grid for a credit).

2.  Insurance Against Rising Energy Costs

Beyond the initial costs of installing residential solar panels, you should think about the fact that you will save significant money each and every month on utility bills, and also prevent the impact of future rising energy costs.  Some experts believe that conventional energy sources will cost as much as 50% more by 2035, according to United States Energy Information Administration (EIA).  With a solar power system, your costs are stable and predictable, giving you insurance against skyrocketing bills, as well as protection against blackouts caused by man-made and natural disasters.

3.  Flexibility

One of the best things about a residential solar system is that you can start small and add to it later.  In addition, you may start with a solar hot water heating system and then add solar PV panels for electricity later.  Even better, you can continue to add solar panels to the system as necessary.

4. Inspring Others

When you go solar, the impact is not just limited to your own checkbook and carbon footprint.  The mere sight of solar panels on a neighbor’s rooftop can inspire others to consider residential solar.  In fact, your installation just may empower the entire neighborhood.

5.  Environmental Responsibility

The step of installing solar panels on your rooftop will probably continue to inspire other people in the community to go green, as noted above.  But beyond that, you can rest assured that residential solar will make a difference in the world, both with respect to cutting down use of fossil fuels and preserving natural resources, and to reduce personal energy consumption overall.

Residential solar panels

Thinking about reducing your energy costs in the New Year with a renewable energy system?  Comparing solar power to wind largely depends on the size of the system.  When we’re talking utility scale renewable energy, wind is probably less expensive than solar.  However, when we take it down to an individual, residential level, solar generally beats wind energy.

To confirm this, a comparative turbine test was undertaken in Holland over a 12-month time period.  Among other things, the researchers found that small wind turbine systems generally do not produce much power, considering their cost.  In addition, small wind may cost 10 times the price of solar panels to generate equivalent power.

In a Clean Technica blog post, entitled “Small Wind Sucks, Study Finds” the following statistics were revealed:

Ampair 600 (3 foot rotor blades): for $12,710 it makes only 20 kwh a month
Airdolphin at $24,747 (or the WRE 030 for twice that at $41,620!) to get 33 kWh a month
WRE 060 $52,444 for 41 kWh a month, or the (relatively!) cost-effective Passaat at $13, 029 to make about 48 kWh a month.
Skystream at $15,149 makes 176 kWh a month
Montana (16 foot rotor) costs $26,359 and makes 224 kwh a month

Based on these stats, it makes more sense to consider each individual small wind turbine as a single solar panel in a solar array.

Small Wind (image from tswind on Flickr)

In the United States most homes use, on average, 1000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy each month.  Considering the small percentage that could be genreated by small wind turbines, one would need multiple wind turbines.  Now, let’s talk about cost.  In order to generate the same amount of renewable electricity, compare over $100,000 for a small wind system to about $15,000 for a comparable solar panel system, prior to state and federal rebates.

Did you know that you could completely power your home with a solar array the size of your living room on your roof?  Compared to small wind power, you’d need a much larger installation to generate enough energy for even a single residential unit.

The bottom line is, when considering a number of factors: (1) cost, (2) efficiency; (3) aesthetics, and more, it may make more sense to go with a residential solar power installation instead of small wind.

Have personal experiences?  Be sure to share below!

Solar panels coming soon to the Soaring Heights Communities in Tuscon, AZ

The Soaring Heights Communities – a residential development near Tuscon, Arizona – will be home to the largest community-wide solar project in the U.S.  With a combination of rooftop solar panels and ground-mounted PV panels, the 6 megawatt (MW) installation will generate more than 10 million kilowatt-hours per year of clean, green electricity!

The clean electricity generated is enough to service 75% of the energy required by the community next year and eventually to provide 100% of electricity.  900 homes in the subdivision will have rooftop solar panel installations.

The residential solar panel development is the result of a partnership between several key entities, including Actus Lend Lease, Solar City, Tuscon Electric Power, National Bank of Arizona and U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation.  Under the terms of the agreement, SolarCity is designing and installing the solar panel systems.

All together, this largest community-wide solar project will increase the total solar capacity in Arizona by 15%!

Big power from small solar power kits

Converting to solar power is very easy for homeowners.  All-in-one solar power kits for your home are relatively inexpensive and easy to install.  You can also purchase solar kits for your RV, boat, small business, etc.

Perhaps the best thing about solar power kits is the fact that everything you need is in one box.  You don’t have to shop for individual solar panel system components.  It truly is solar made easy!

Solar kits include:

• solar panel(s)
• inverter
• mounting rack
• batteries
• cables
• charger controllers

Here’s a brief overview of solar photovoltaic operations:

Major solar panel manufacturers like Solarworld, Sanyo, Sharp, Mitsubishi, and Sharp offer solar power kits for sale.  You’ll probably also read about DIY solar power kits.  Some sites allege that you can create a residential solar power system for $200 or less in a single weekend.

There are instructional videos for the handypersons among you!

If that one was too technical, consider this earth4energy clip:

These days with generous rebates and incentives for solar power, why not watch your electricity bill go down, and the value of your home go up?  Solar panel kits make it easy for you to tap into clean solar energy.